Children story: Alva

Alva likes it when the sun shines. Alva then takes her red scooter and drives down the long hallway. At the same time Alva’s blond hair blows behind her. That’s how fast it is. Because Alva lives in a big house. The house stands in the middle of the forest and all around it is surrounded by green leaves. Not far away is also a lake. Alva can see it from her room. When the sun shines, there is a sparkle from the water that reflects on the walls. Alva sometimes tries to hold her hands in front of it and catch the sparkle.

It wasn’t that long ago that Alva was riding her red scooter around the big city. There were cars honking and playgrounds full of children. But because Mami was getting fatter and Nuri is now her little brother, they all needed a bigger house.
The other day it rained. Alva was sitting on the sofa with her mom and mom was reading to her from a book. When Alva looked up, a butterfly flew through the living room. But this was not just any butterfly. The butterfly had two different wings. One was yellow, like that of a lemon, and one had an orange dot, like an eye. Alva remained sitting on Mama’s lap, following the butterfly with her gaze until it disappeared through the open balcony door.

The following day it rained again. This time Alva saw a butterfly again. At least she thought it was a butterfly. Because this one had two different wings again. One was pink and delicate and one was ocher and plump, as if it belonged to a moth. Alva wasn’t quite sure if it was a butterfly. Then came another butterfly, or something like it, and it looked just like the first one. Together, the butterflies staggered through the house. Alva jumped after them until they too disappeared through an open window.

Then came many sunny days, they were days when Alva could ride her scooter outside without her jacket and she had almost forgotten about the butterflies.

But when more and more clouds appeared in the sky and Dad said: “Alva, come quickly with me into the kitchen, there’s about to be a thunderstorm! Alva happened to see a fox sneaking into the house through a previously undiscovered hatch under the seating area.

Alva looked twice and said, “Daddy, Daddy, there’s a fox running! And dad also looked twice, but could not discover anything. The fox had already escaped. Yes, Dad!, Alva shouted, but Dad was busy with the lightning flashing across the sky and excited by the rumbling. Alva pressed up against him and saw the fox once again, now sniffing the ground as he crept into the basement. Alva didn’t really like thunderstorms, but Alva liked it when Daddy took her in his arms and showed her the thunderstorm.

After dinner, Alva took her flashlight and red scooter and headed to the basement to look for the fox. She was breathing fast and there was a pounding in her chest. But she found only potatoes, dusty jam jars and a rusty bicycle. But when she arrived back upstairs, the fox was lying next to the stove. Alva grabbed her blonde braids. She tiptoed closer. The fox did not move. He was asleep. Only when Alva reached out her hand to pet him did he scurry away again through the hatch.

The following days it was rainy outside. The fox came more and more often now. Alva was still not allowed to touch him, but when no one was looking, he would sneak into Alva’s room. He would then curl up in front of her bed and not leave the house until dawn, when all the parents were still asleep. Alva liked that.

But then the weather outside became even more uncomfortable. Wind tore leaves from the branches and smashed branches against the window panes. Then it happened that a deer jumped through the hatch. But something was wrong. It was only the head of a deer. The hind legs came from a wild boar. Then there was a squirrel that had wings. The more violent the weather got outside, the crazier the animals that came through the hatch. There was an owl with deer antlers and fish tail. Or was that then no

Owl more? Anyway, it didn’t take long before the whole kitchen was full of amazing creatures.

It finally became too much for Alva. She whizzed down the long hallway on her red scooter to Mom and Mommy’s bedroom. They were lying in their bed reading a book. When Alva told them the story, they jumped up and ran to the kitchen in their robes. Alva dashed on to the other end of the corridor, into the bedroom of Papa and Papi, who were just putting the sleeping Nuri into his bed. She also told them the story and they immediately ran to the kitchen.

There was then quite a commotion in the kitchen. Alva was glad that everyone was there. Dad was big. He could easily take on the fish-tailed owl. Daddy got a pack of nuts from the attic and lured the winged squirrel outside. Mom shooed the rest of the animals away and Mommy took care of the hatch in the meantime. She boarded up the entrance with two sturdy boards. When the animals were back outside, everyone clapped their hands, hugged each other in exhaustion, and Dad took Alva to her room.

In her bed, Alva kept herself awake until everyone was asleep. Then she quietly got up, opened the front door to the fox. He trotted along behind her, always staying a stride behind her. In Alva’s room, he finally rolled in front of her bed. Alva was tired, she did not dream much that night.

At dawn, her alarm clock beeped and she released the fox back into the air. Then she fell asleep once again.

So now she does it every night until the weather gets much better and the fox no longer has to appear.